<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bleeding Heart by KiraLioden</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29837538">Bleeding Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraLioden/pseuds/KiraLioden'>KiraLioden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>But Sometimes, Love is Sacrifice [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, also if you were wondering: yes spoilers. many spoilers. may also have other game spoilers., in case that isn't clear: it's bloodless, no beta we die like the P3 protag, yes major character death but it's exactly what you'd expect from march 5th</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:54:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29837538</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraLioden/pseuds/KiraLioden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seven years, and the wounds are rawer than ever before. Her heart aches so, so much. Yet—what can she do? To die is to spit upon his sacrifice. So she has to live on. She has to. </p><p>But it's as they say: living's just as hard as dying.</p><p>(In other words: Hamuko suffers, both in her present and her past.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Arisato Hamuko &amp; Arisato Minato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>But Sometimes, Love is Sacrifice [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137506</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bleeding Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>----- ···-- ----- ····· ·---- --···</p>
<p>Midnight’s just around the corner. And at this time of the night, the room—just far enough from the streets to remain quiet—is only filled with the sound of her clock ticking away. She watches the seconds pass fervently, ignoring how her muscles scream their protests.</p>
<p>Two minutes. One minute. Thirty seconds.</p>
<p>Her hands tremble. The mug in her grip shakes with them, sloshing lukewarm tea onto her pants. She pays it no heed.</p>
<p>Fifteen seconds. Ten. Five.</p>
<p>Then the clock strikes midnight.</p>
<p>And just as it had for the last seven years, nothing happens. The lights stay on, the water remains clear. The moon hangs just as plaintively in the night sky as it always does. She lets out a breath she hadn’t meant to hold, but it comes out more of a sob than a sigh.</p>
<p>She shouldn’t be disappointed. Yet while there is no reason to wish for the Dark Hour to come again—and she knows she doesn’t actually want that, either—even that would have been preferable to leaving her alone with her thoughts. At least that way she’d be able to distract herself from the pain and guilt by fighting Shadows. But that’s a fool’s wish; when even sleep doesn’t offer her respite, who’s to say that’d actually help?</p>
<p>But she was doing so <em>well</em>; she handled New Year’s Eve just fine, despite all that was tied to that date. Yet, between then and now… the world wasn’t what it should have been. The memories are piecemeal, hazy, but she remembers enough to understand the basics. It was all illusions, she knows now, born of the heart’s desire, to soothe the pain that comes with living with reality. And of course, what else would cause pain more than loss? SEES was long disbanded, but each of its former members had lost someone dear to them at some point, and for many of them, those deaths still haunt them.</p>
<p>But in that world, she remembers enough of what it was like. It was as if their loved ones had never died, as if there were no regrets left, as if the world had found its perfect, happy ending… at least for them.</p>
<p>She was no exception. It’s frustrating, how an entire month is just out of clarity’s reach, but even so…</p>
<p>Her brother was there. It was like Nyx never happened—not that she could have remembered Nyx, because that could have never happened in that false reality. But he was there all the same, and that sense of missing him had not been overwritten.</p>
<p>She remembers being so happy to see him again.</p>
<p>And oh, how cruel kindness can be. Just a little over a month later, here she is, left dealing with the anniversary of her brother’s death with the memory of his smile fresh on her mind.</p>
<p>Sobs rack her body. The mug slips out of her grip, shattering against the floor and sending cold tea splashing everywhere. But she doesn’t care. Why would she care?</p>
<p>It’s March 5<sup>th</sup>, after all, and though her feet bleed from the ceramic shards, her heart bleeds more, scars ripped back open by the memory of losing him not once, but twice.</p>
<p>----- ···-- ----- ····· ·---- -----</p>
<p>It’s March 5<sup>th</sup>, Graduation Day. Or at least, it is for the third-years. She and the rest of the second years still have finals to go through in about a week, and then there’s another year of high school after that. Still, despite not having any direct attachment to the date, a part of her feels… anticipatory. Excited, even, or hopeful.</p>
<p>She’s not sure why.</p>
<p>The weather’s nice, though; even with spring a few weeks away, the cherry blossoms are full bloom, petals dancing in the gentle breeze. It’s just warm enough to make her feel drowsy, too, and she can’t imagine the state Minato’s in. Or actually, she can; he’s been practically dozing off on his feet since they left the dorm. Even with his track record of falling asleep at odd times, this… this is a bit much, and it makes her worried. He insists he’s fine, though, and while she doesn’t believe him, she has a better shot getting Sanada to give up boxing than to get her brother to confess.</p>
<p>He does excuse himself to head to the bathroom instead of the auditorium, which she doesn’t think too much about—or at least, she hadn’t. As the students fill the seats and chatter rings through the auditorium, he still hasn’t arrived. Takeba comes and settles beside her, and Iori arrives before her brother appears.</p>
<p>“Where’s Minato?” Iori asks as he plops into the seat on her other side, just as she finishes an attempt to call her brother, to no avail.</p>
<p>“He said he’s in the bathroom, but…” She glances at the entrance, fidgeting slightly. “Hey, can you two watch over my seat? I want to check up on him.”</p>
<p>Takeba gives her a look of vague disapproval. It reminds her a bit of Kirijo. “Uh, sure. But how are you supposed to check on him if he’s in the<em> boy’s</em> bathroom?”</p>
<p>“Desperate times, desperate measures.” She stands up and shuffles out of the aisle, then hurries away. “Thanks, you two!”</p>
<p>Takeba says something and Iori gives her a thumbs up, but she doesn’t pay them too much heed. She doesn’t have too much trouble leaving the auditorium, either—Toriumi-sensei stops her briefly to ask her where she’s going, but lets her go after she explains she’s looking for Minato—but it turns out to be considerably harder to find her brother. He’s not in the bathroom (she checked all of them), and there are only so many possible places he can pass out.</p>
<p>“Where are you, Minato…?” she mutters, sliding yet another door shut and glancing out the window. He’s not picking up his phone, so she can’t hunt him down like that. Had he left the school? The city’s big enough that she wouldn’t stand a chance finding him. But he looked so <em>tired</em>; there’s no way he could have gone far.</p>
<p>Outside, the wind picks up a bit. Yet more petals fill the air. Were she not so worried, she might’ve enjoyed the sight. But still, they manage to strike a chord in her chest, like their dance is supposed to be important. It doesn’t really make sense.</p>
<p>Yet… why does she feel like she’s missing something? Why does she feel like she’s coming close to breaking a promise?</p>
<p>She pauses.</p>
<p>A… a promise…? What…</p>
<p>She can’t put the feeling to words, but something clicks together in her head—urged by a soft whisper of a voice that isn’t her own. It feels so familiar, though, and she instinctively trusts it.</p>
<p>
  <em>Graduation Day. Promise. Rooftop.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Rooftop.</em>
</p>
<p>She hadn’t checked there yet, and she has nothing to lose by looking now. She hurries up the staircase to find the doors already wide open, her brother laying on one of the stone benches with his head resting on a girl’s lap. The girl looks up as she heads towards them, and their eyes meet. The girl’s eyes are such a vibrant shade of blue, just like how Ryoji’s were on the bridge that night, with the moon looming large and low in the green sky.</p>
<p>She pauses.</p>
<p>Ryoji. Bridge. Full moon.</p>
<p>Coffins. Blood.</p>
<p>Shadows.</p>
<p>The concepts seem so random, yet she remembers—she <em>remembers</em>. Not everything—not quite yet, though the voice whispers encouragingly, offering more pieces to the whole—but it’s enough for her to know the name of the girl in front of her, who that night laid broken and battered against the pavement, wires sparking as Minato rushed to her side and cradled her in his arms.</p>
<p>“Aigis,” she whispers, and the girl’s already-bright eyes light up.</p>
<p>“Hamuko-san.” Aigis’s voice is filled with joy. The android gently shakes Minato, who stirs slightly from the movement. “Minato-san, your sister is here.”</p>
<p>He turns his head to look at her and a rush of emotions hits her like a tidal wave—shock, terror, determination, <span>guilt, </span><span>hope, </span><span>pure</span> <em>relief</em><em>—</em><span>as she’s reminded of the Promised Day</span>. She stumbles those last few steps over and falls to her knees beside him. For a moment, the two of them just stare at each other in silence, but Minato breaks it first.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he says, sounding drowsy. “Took you long enough.”</p>
<p>She can’t help but smile, even if her eyes tear up a little. “Minato, you stupid… why didn’t you try and remind me?”</p>
<p>He just blinks at her and shrugs slightly.</p>
<p>“You jerk...” she manages to laugh, reaching to hold his hand as she leans her head against his chest. “What’s up with you and trying to shoulder everything by yourself? You have all of us. You could have said something to someone—”</p>
<p>Minato lets out a small sigh. His other hand finds its way to her hair and gently pats it, fingers slipping slightly through the strands. It makes her feel like a child again. “You were happy.”</p>
<p>“After everything that happened on New Year’s Eve, you really want to tell me ignorance is bliss?” She shakes her head a little, rumpling her hair in the process. “We promised to remember, Minato. We <em>all</em> promised.”</p>
<p>“I believe they will remember it soon,” Aigis offers. “I have only done so this morning, and you have likewise recalled the events a bit ago.”</p>
<p>Aigis is right. Of course she’s right. But that’s not really the thing that’s bothering her, is it? It’s just an excuse. She draws a shaky breath, then continues.</p>
<p>“Yeah, but… he still already faced Nyx by himself. We couldn’t support him then.” She squeezes his hand a little tighter and closes her eyes. “I was so scared I’d lose you, Minato. I didn’t want to stand aside like that again, too helpless to do anything. But you did it again, and we were here with you the entire time. We would’ve been there for you.”</p>
<p>“Mm...” She feels him shift a bit, the cold of his ring running against her palm. “It was going to be fine. I have it handled.”</p>
<p>“But you shouldn’t have to do that.”</p>
<p>“He won’t have to bear that burden alone again,” Aigis assures her. “All of SEES has been important to me. But Minato-san… Minato-san has helped me find my reason to live. Such a thing must easier for you to find… but I learned that all one needs is something simple… like having someone to care for. And I wish to take care of him. I want to be by his side and protect him for as long as he lives. That is the purpose I found for myself.”</p>
<p>“Aigis…” Minato’s hand slips away from her head. She opens her eyes to see him brush a tear from the android’s face.</p>
<p>“Isn’t it strange, Minato-san? Hamuko-san?” Aigis says, smiling as her eyes glitter with unshed tears. “I was not made knowing how to cry… yet I cried when I thought we lost you, Minato-san, and now I’m crying because I feel so… happy.”</p>
<p>There are no words to respond to that—or at least, that’s what she feels. Minato is likewise silent, hand falling back to his side after brushing another rogue tear away. But that seems fine with Aigis. Thus, they remain in a warm, companionable silence. The breeze gently sweeps by, rustling leaves and petals as it passes through. It’s soothing; even she feels drowsy under the sunlight, especially with the rise and fall of her brother’s chest lulling her further. Minato is clearly struggling to stay awake now, seemingly dozing off and jolting back awake every few moments. She finds it strange; normally he’d just take a nap if he was even half as tired as he must be right now. It must be really important to him, to be awake when everyone else hopefully remembers. But at least he shouldn’t have to wait much longer.</p>
<p>“Hey!” she hears someone call from down the stairwell—Iori. Alongside his voice, there’s also the echo of many footsteps coming their way. It grows louder until it’s replaced with just the sound of footsteps on the open rooftop. She doesn’t have to turn around to know who’s there.</p>
<p>Just as she lifts her head from his chest to greet them, Minato’s gaze drifts towards the doors and blinks once, twice. Then, a faint smile crosses his face.</p>
<p>“There you are,” he whispers. After a moment, his head tilts a bit so he could meet her eyes. “Hamuko… please make sure you all take care of yourselves.”</p>
<p>Take care of… what? Why? Why is he saying that? And why does he look so sad? It doesn’t make sense. Or maybe it does, because dread bubbles at the pit of her stomach, heavy as a stone.</p>
<p>“…Minato?”</p>
<p>He doesn’t answer her, instead managing to give her hand a light squeeze before his eyes flutter shut. It just looks like he’s sleeping. But still, with the gentle murmur of the newly found voice falling silent in her mind—as if in mourning—and the sudden weight in her heart, she knows that isn’t the case. She just doesn’t want to believe it.</p>
<p>“Minato?” He doesn’t react, even as she tries to nudge him, shake him back awake. She can’t stop the panic from leaking into her voice as she calls his name again.</p>
<p>But of course, there’s no response.</p>
<p>Quite in fact, she realizes a little while later as she numbly watches the paramedics cart him off to the ambulance, he might never be able to give her a response.</p>
<p>----- ···-- ----- ····· ·---- -----</p>
<p>The hospital is not an inviting place. It is a place of many bad memories. But once she recovers enough to think somewhat clearly, she goes there to remain by Minato’s side. Aigis is there when she arrives, too, but she seems too shell-shocked to speak—or even acknowledge her entering the room. But she doesn’t blame her.</p>
<p>Still, it feels so cold in the room. The doctors come in now and again to run a test, or some member of SEES to check in on them, but all in all… she feels so <em>alone</em>.</p>
<p>She can’t take it. She can’t.</p>
<p>It takes her some time to realize it, but she must have started talking to fill the emptiness. Memories, stories, everything she holds precious slips out of her as words. But eventually, even that well runs dry, and she’s left with only the pain throbbing in her heart. And still, some words flow.</p>
<p>“SEES is our family. And… and I know it’s unfair to them to say things like they’re not. But at the same time, it’s still like you’re the only family I have left.”</p>
<p>Trembling, she tightens her grip on his hand. He doesn’t react. Of course he doesn’t react, he’s in a coma at best. But her vision blurs anyway.</p>
<p>“Remember?” she continues, voice warbling and cracking at the edges. “All we had was each other. Everyone else… everyone else, up until we moved back here, would just leave us in the end.”</p>
<p>Tears run down her cheeks unbidden, silently falling onto the sheets.</p>
<p>“So please… please don’t leave me, too.”</p>
<p>But of course, the room remains silent, save the sound of her soft sobs and the heart monitor languidly beeping by his bedside.</p>
<p>----- ···-- ----- ····· ·---- -----</p>
<p>The test results are confirmed a few hours later, a little before midnight. Arisato Minato, though his heart beats, is officially dead.</p>
<p>----- ···-- ----- ····· ·---- -----</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yeah yeah i know i didn't finish the previous one but today's more important. have more word vomit &lt;3</p>
<p>fucking hope i can write more before i die of school</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>